PORTLAND — The latest offering from Mad Horse Theatre may remind some of one of those TV series about educated 30-somethings who gather to ponder their identities. Indeed, the playwright, Gina Gionfriddo, has written extensively for the small screen.

But with its loose roots in classical literature and reflections on contemporary manners, “Becky Shaw” contains considerably more wit and bite than most of those series manage. And, though it may introduce a few too many thematic tangents, it’s also very funny. It’s the type of play that Mad Horse does very well.

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"Becky Shaw" is a story about a newly married coupl who fix up each other's friends on a blind date.

The story concerns a newly married couple, Suzanna and Andrew, who fix up each other’s friends on a blind date. Suzanna grew up with pal (and onetime lover) Max, a tough nut who thinks that “love is a happy by-product of use.” She would rather put emphasis on the fact that life offers “little pockets of joy to get you through.” Getting through, we learn, is something she has not always found easy to do.

Suzanna’s nurturing hubby doubts Max’s capacity to lighten up but introduces him to the title character, who Max quickly decides is a “desperate woman.” As the play moves along, we learn that Becky is both “delicate” and “intense,” not to mention “scary,” as she tries to tease out Max’s well-defended “vulnerability.”

Everyone gets in feints and jabs before Suzanna’s aged mom steps in to revisit the “pockets theme” by lecturing that there need to be “pockets of mystery (and) privacy” within relationships if they are to last.

Who else but Mad Horse regular Brent Askari could play Max? He has embodied numerous acerbic characters in his career and takes this one on with relish. In Saturday’s opening performance, Askari was totally tuned in to his character’s need to control the situation. Max’s way of cutting through convenient fictions with a razor-sharp wit was a major source of laughs and an effective device for forcing the issues of the play.

Elizabeth Chambers used her expressive face to establish her Suzanna’s complex love/hate relationship with Max and her mom, each a source of strength to her at times but limiting her at others.

Janice Gardner gave her Becky the appropriate degree of annoyingly manipulative vulnerability that rang true about individuals we all have known.

Burke Brimmer, as Suzanna’s husband, Andrew, was good at leading the audience through his difficult path in dealing with his own and the other characters’ needs.

Stage vet Tootie Van Reenen, in delivering her hard-edged motherly advice, was very funny in a role perfect for her skills.

First-time director James Herrera deserves credit for realizing an essentially little play that certainly has a lot to say.

Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.

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